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Each month, PAA will present a Bad Apple award to a corporation, program, individual, etc. we believe has caused harm to public education and public school families.

We will also occasionally present a Good Apple award to a corporation, program, individual, etc., we believe has demonstrated noteworthy support for public education and public school families.

The Good Apples are individuals, programs, organizations, corporations, foundations, etc. PAA considers to be supportive of public education in at least some of their activities. We can’t vouch for everything each of those listed as Good Apples have ever done and we try to be quite specific about the reason they appear on the Good Apple list. We recognize that it is rare for any corporate or other powerful entity to be completely pure in their dealings where public education is concerned, and we will also try to note related issues with any of our listed Good Apples.

We don’t necessarily disapprove of everything each of the listed Bad Apples have ever done — we also try to be quite specific about the reason they appear on the Bad Apple list.

What do the Good Apple and Bad Apple awards mean for you??

Carefully consider how you spend your consumer dollars.

When you shop at a Bad Apple store, buy a Bad Apple product, or in other ways contribute to their wealth, you might be adding to the funds they use to undermine democratic public education. If you buy your child’s school supplies or his or her first day of school outfit at Wal*Mart, for example, they are likely to just turn around and give that money to support efforts close public schools, prop up astroturf groups, or expand charter schools.

Shopping at a Good Apple store or buying Good Apple products, on the other hand, often even directly supports neighborhood public schools, such as a Target program that ended in 2016 and gave more than $460 million to more than 120,000 schools over 19 years.

Where we can, we provide alternatives to Bad Apples, keeping in mind that these consumer choices are very often driven by price.

Spread the word about the Good Apple and Bad Apple awards.

Big corporations seem all-powerful, but in reality they are very vulnerable where their public image is concerned. They want the public to believe that they care about us and our families, and that they are good corporate citizens. Challenging their public images can have a powerful impact.

Share the Good and Bad Apple information widely among your social media networks. When we give out the Good and Bad Apple awards, we will also provide sample tweets and useful links.

Nominate candidates for the Good Apple and Bad Apple awards!

Send your nominees and a brief explanation of why you have nominated them to info@parentsacrossamerica.org

We’d also love for our chapters and affiliates to give out your own local Good and Bad Apple awards. We can also post them on our web site.